By: Tyler Dudek

133 million years ago, pterosaurs lived, They had crests that helped them keep warm & find a mate. The fossil evidence shows had cool feathers on their head.

The scientists studied the partial fossil skull of the pterosaur. The paleontologist Aude Cincotta and her workers published their findings in Nature on April 20th. She believes that the flying reptile had two types of feathers on its head. Some are long and thin or short and thin, others are branching shapes.

According to a study described in Science News for Students, “feathers aren’t just for birds or dinosaurs. The feathers must have had purposes other than flying. That could have been insulation and communication.”

In the fossil’s soft tissue, the scientists found the cell called Melanosome from the feathers and skin. The shape is oval and long. The round one is related to yellow or reddish-brown colors and the long ones are darker colors.